Girl Group Chicago keeps it real

February 07, 2013|By Jessica Hopper, Special to the Tribune

Shana East never meant for things to turn out as they have, but she's glad they did.

"I thought that maybe if I was lucky I would get two horns and a violin," says East, the founder and frontwoman of Girl Group Chicago. Hoping to get an all-female big-band-of-sorts off the ground, she advertised for potential bandmates via Facebook and Craigslist. So many interested and capable women turned out for the auditions that once East drafted everyone who'd made the cut, she had a 20-piece orchestra on her hands.

East's original idea was to not only pay tribute to the forgotten singers and faves of the '60s "girl group" era, but reclaim it in a sense.

"It's funny that girl groups, their songs were written, produced and played by men," East says. "So I thought, 'What if there was a real girl group?' I thought it would bring a different meaning to some of the songs."

East held auditions for the bevy of respondents: 10 singers, five violinists and innumerable guitarists. In the end, though, Girl Group is able to articulate East's loftiest fantasy about how it would all sound: an approximation of Phil Spector's "Wall Of Sound," the lush sonics of vocal groups like The Ronettes and The Crystals. The group has a five-piece horn section, a trio of strings and a handful of backup singers as well as a full, amplified rock band.

"When we all get together to practice in the basement, it's pretty intense. And loud," East says with a laugh.

After a recent sold-out show at the Hideout, East feels like the band is starting to hit its stride. They've all finally gotten their costumes, they have choreography, and they have just elected to have one member of the band work, essentially, as the conductor. Given the size of the band, East says, each section has its own individual practice outside of the weekly all-band practice to work on arrangements. The other development that has led to Girl Group's cohesion is that they have gotten to know one another.

East says that when she first started to get the group together, some male friends tried to "warn" her that having that many women together would be trouble, an idea she still finds hysterical.

"It was strange at first, working with such a large group of musicians, many of them we'd only even met once or twice," East says. "Now we know how to work together and work around, because there are just so many personalities involved."

The immense positive feedback after shows helped motivate the group to dedicate itself to the work involved in being such a big band, which includes members of such notable locals as Bobby Conn, Bare Mutants, Speck Mountain and Mucca Pazza, as well as (famous public access cable show) "Chic-A-Go-Go" host Miss Mia.

For East, the real dream behind Girl Group has already come true.

"I wanted this to be a showcase for different women's talents. So many times, when a show is over, women musicians get compliments like 'You were hot!' or 'You play great drums for a girl!' I really wanted to do something that defies stereotype … (and) show people the power of this many creative women, together."